Tim Boyle/Getty Images(OAK BROOK, Ill.) -- The head of McDonald’s U.S. operations is leaving the company just a week after a report showed sales were down for the first time in nearly a decade.

Jeff Stratton, a 40-year veteran of the company who currently serves as McDonald’s Global Chief Restaurant Officer, will take over for Jan Fields as president of McDonald's USA.

Fields, 57, had been with McDonald’s for more than 35 years, the company said.

The changes will take effect Dec. 1.

McDonald’s sales dropped last month in the U.S. and around the globe, ending close to a decade of positive reports. The restaurant chain has been unveiling new, more upscale products to try to make up for declines.